


Love

by Bannerific (Nellethiel)



Series: Of Science and Soldiers - 100 One-Shots [5]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Incredible Hulk (2008)
Genre: Bad Parenting, Howard Stark's Bad Parenting, Love, M/M, One Shot, Pre-Slash, Science Boyfriends, Tony's robots are idiots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-16
Updated: 2013-10-16
Packaged: 2017-12-29 14:19:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1006431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nellethiel/pseuds/Bannerific
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He hates to admit it, but Tony Stark doesn't know everything.<br/>Also Butterfingers should never be allowed near an open flame. Ever.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Love

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Rosetta (Melime)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Melime/gifts).
  * Translation into Português brasileiro available: [Amor](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1075063) by [Rosetta (Melime)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Melime/pseuds/Rosetta)



Tony Stark could count on his hands the number of times his father had said that he loved him. And to this day, Tony still wasn't sure he believed it, most of the time. It had always felt like something of a formality. "You're my son and I love you and I know what's best for you, so you'd better listen carefully," and shit like that. His mother had mentioned it on occasion, but as far as Tony was concerned, she was just trying to make up for never sticking up for him, and he was having none of it.

None of that meant that Tony didn't know _how_ to love, of course. He was pretty sure he knew how it felt to love someone, at least platonically, and he was positive he knew what it felt like to _be_ loved. The way Pepper and Rhodey reliably took care of him and watched out for him told him everything he needed to know about whether or not they loved him. (They did.) And though he wasn't the best at showing it, Tony really did reciprocate. He sometimes (often) feared that his spontaneous, opulent gifts and his hasty over-the-shoulder shouts of, "Love you, man!" fell short of the mark, but damn it, he was trying.

What was new and somewhat alarming, however, was the realization that he might just be _in_ love with someone. Someone who not only gave him more reason to love them than himself, but did so without reminding him of the things he hated about himself. Tony had thought, for quite some time, that he was in love with Pepper. And he had tried so hard to make himself be in love with her that it took him several months to realize he just... wasn't. He _needed_ her, certainly. And she was good for him. But he was no good for her. Not in a bad-boy, let's-smoke-behind-the-gas-station-and-commit-petty-theft-together-baby sort of way, but in an I-need-you-WAY-more-than-you-need-me sort of way. Tony didn't buy into psychology, but he knew that wasn't healthy. And he knew that wasn't a legitimate basis for romantic love.

But this... this was entirely different. This was butterflies and cold sweats and trailing off mid-sentence when the subject of his affections entered the room. This was the catastrophic derailment of his train of thought the moment physical contact was made. This was being not just excited but _desperate_ to get to the lab, no longer to escape from people, but to be captured by that one person; to fall into those eyes, to melt into the voice, to be swept along by the very life force of Bruce Banner. And Tony was scared absolutely shitless.

There were so many things that could go wrong. Tony was painfully aware of his flaws; he was absent-minded, inattentive, self-centered, volatile, and exceptionally talented at pissing people off. And Bruce sure as hell deserved better than all that. So Tony decided he'd just have to settle for a creepy, awkward, passion-from-a-distance sort of thing. It sucked, but that's life.

All things considered, Tony was as surprised when he told Bruce he loved him that exciting evening in the lab.

Tony had been reworking his flares in an attempt to make them more powerful, when an overly enthusiastic Butterfingers had swung around with the acetylene torch in its grasp, and the whole project had quite literally gone up in flames. Tony wasn't sure exactly which container he'd mistakenly left open, but the next thing he knew his entire work table was a massive fireball and Bruce was dragging him toward the door by his belt.

Once they were safely outside the lab, leaving the significantly less flammable robots to get the situation under control, Bruce began to check him over, ascertaining that the damage hadn't gone further than singed eyebrows and what resembled a sunburn.

"Look, Bruce, I'm sorry," Tony began, pulling away and running a hand absently through his hair. "I've gotta be more careful in there."

"It's not a problem, Tony," Bruce said easily. "As far as I'm concerned, if no one comes out green and snarling, a lab accident is hardly cause for alarm."

And then they laughed until they couldn't breathe.

It was as they both wiped tears from their eyes and caught their breath that Tony looked over at his friend, his stomach still spasming periodically with residual laughter, and said, "I really love you, Bruce."

Just like that, it was out.

And Bruce hesitated for only one thoughtful second before saying, "I love you too, Tony," and that was that, too.

And then the moment passed, and they headed back into the lab, which was no longer smoldering but had become rather soggy.

Suddenly Tony realized that "love" was less cut-and-dry than he'd thought, or perhaps hoped. Because Bruce had said it back. He knew Bruce wouldn't lie to him. But he had no idea what it meant.

Sometimes Tony wondered if he was as smart as everyone thought.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to my lovely friend Jasper (Midtime on TheDailyNeopets) for choosing the prompt for this one.


End file.
